On-Call Firefighter

We are currently recruiting for on-call firefighters at the following 10 fire stations:

1. Cliffe
2. Faversham
3. Grain
4. Herne Bay
5. Hythe
6. New Romney
7. Teynham
8. Tunbridge Wells
9. Westerham
10. Wye

Being a part of Kent Fire and Rescue Service 

Everyone is unique. Everyone has value. Everyone helps to make Kent Fire and Rescue Service a great place to work. We are one team. Together with our customers we are creating a safer future for Kent and Medway.

What would you do as an on-call firefighter?

Being on standby, you’ll go about your day-to-day life, carrying a pager and responding to a variety of emergencies in your neighbourhood, such as fires, road crashes and rescues. You’ll need to be able to get to the fire station and out on the fire engine within five minutes.

If you are interested in joining our team at Kent Fire and Rescue Service as an On-call firefighter please click the link below to find out further information about the role and how you can apply.: On-call firefighter | Kent Fire and Rescue Service

To join us as an on-call firefighter, applicants must:

• be aged 18 years or over (there is no upper age limit)
• have the right to work in the UK
• meet the required health and physical fitness standards
• currently live or work within 5 minutes commutable distance of the On Call Station being applied for
• a driving licence is essential
• Be available to attend a selection assessment day on one of the following dates:
• 4th, 6th, 8th, 11 OR 12th January 2027
   
• Be available to attend the following Induction dates: Saturday 8 May and Sunday 9 May 2027

• Be available to attend the following course dates: 21 June to 2 July 2027 inclusive (Monday - Friday only) – two weeks OR 21 June to 30 July 2027 (Monday – Friday only) – six Weeks

How to apply

Please complete an online application by midnight on 13 December 2026.

Once you have completed your application, the station you are applying for will review your application to confirm that you live OR work within minutes of the station and that the hours you can offer meets their need.  The station may reach out to you discuss and/or you are welcome to go to the station to discuss the role in more detail.  Drill nights are the best times to do this are published for each station on our website.

If you meet the eligibility criteria of the role, we will send invitations to attend the Assessment Days when the advert closes.

Any questions, please reach out to the Talent Acquisition team by e-mailing [email protected] 

How your pay is built

Incident pay is currently £14.40 per hour for a Development Firefighter (set nationally by the National Joint Council for Local Authority Fire & Rescue Services (the “Grey Book”)

Your annual salary has two parts, both paid monthly whether or not you are called out:  

 A retaining fee for the weekly hours you commit to being available. The fee is a percentage of the full-time basic salary for your role, set by your availability band. 

• Paid hours for training and station work at the full-time hourly rate for your role - 137 hours a year for weekly drill nights, 96 hours for ongoing learning, development and fitness, and 52 hours for routines and station maintenance (285 hours in total).  
• A structured Development-to-Competent pathway, with a significant pay step on confirmation of end point assessment – the target for that is 2 years.  

  On top of that you are paid for every incident you attend (Incident Pay) - an hourly rate for the time you are engaged plus a disturbance payment for each call-out - and for any formal training courses.  

Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. We know that great minds don’t think alike, so we rely on diverse thoughts, feelings, beliefs and backgrounds to create the best working environment that we can possibly offer.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service, its employees and volunteers, are committed to safeguarding, protecting and supporting children, young people and adults at risk. As part of our safer recruitment process, we will undertake pre-employment checks to verify your suitability for the role. These checks will include your references and a standard or enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Enhanced DBS check with barred lists are carried out for roles with direct and unsupervised access to children, young people and adults at risk. Risk assessments will be undertaken on any disclosures identified as part of the pre-employment checks.

As a Public Sector organisation with added responsibilities under the Equality Act, 2010 the candidate must demonstrate an understanding of what is meant by Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and how this fits in with their everyday work.